Then I'll Say Yes
by spoonorita
Summary: "Hmmm…" Axel hummed, rolling his eyes to the ceiling and pressing a finger to the corner of his mouth, unable to keep the beaming grin from his face. "Well, I don't work this weekend, but I do have that big project due…" "All you have to do is say yes, asshole," Roxas grumbled.


SHOWS UP THREE MONTHS LATE FOR AKUROKU DAY WITH STARBUCKS

- - x - -

Axel's heart was pounding in his chest like a drum against his ribcage, his legs quivered like overcooked noodles beneath him and he had to use the counter in front of him as leverage. He gripped cold metal with sweaty palms otherwise he was going down like a lead weight when approached by sapphire blue eyes and a smile that bored into his heart and spread through his veins like tonic water, and a soft voice that Axel could only describe as angelic when it asked with its usual "Sea-salt, please,"

A week prior, the boss had almost stopped ordering sea-salt ice cream, claiming that it didn't sell well but Axel had argued and argued and ultimately won, claiming that he bought enough of it to pay for the cost. But really, Axel only wanted to keep it in stock because that's always what _he_ asked for, and if they didn't have sea-salt ice cream anymore, who's to say that _he_ wouldn't go somewhere else to get it. Axel was a lovesick fool, and he took home a box of sea-salt ice cream every other day, giving a majority of it to his roommate because he _liked_ it, but a few bars a week was more than enough for Axel.

Axel dug a bar of sea-salt ice cream from the freezer and handed it to the kid-Roxas-who handed him money in return, and hungrily ripped the paper wrapping from the ice cream bar.

"Thanks," Roxas said with a smile, before stuffing the bar in his mouth and walking away, through the shop door and back out into Twilight Town.

Axel sighed as he watched Roxas walk away, again. He saw him around campus quite often, and only knew his name because his younger sister was in a class with him. Axel, with his more than obvious crush, had managed to pry it out of her with the promise that he would buy her an ice cream sundae every time she came into the shop. A promise that she took advantage of often, coming into the shop and ordering the largest sundae they offered, sometimes with Roxas in tow and Axel, being the gentleman he was, would offer to pay for his sea-salt ice cream as well. Roxas, being the gentleman _he _was, always declined and paid for his own ice cream. Then they'd talk while Kairi finished the monstrosity of a sundae she ordered.

The rest of Axel's shift dragged on for that day, and his shift the next afternoon wasn't much better. Between a lazy she-beast of a coworker and his boss complaining _again _about the sea-salt ice cream not selling enough to warrant keeping it in stock, Axel was ready for the day to end.

The light of Axel's life walked into the shop two hours into his shift (and Axel mentally kicked himself for thinking with such terminology; he hadn't been this into another person since middle school. What was he twelve?), tagging along with a black-haired girl that Axel recognized from one of his classes, Xion or something? He couldn't recall her name.

Xion ordered, a sea-salt ice cream bar for herself and Roxas, while Axel discreetly sized her up and reached into the case for their ice cream bars. He'd never seen the two of them together before. Was she his girlfriend? Was Axel's infatuation all for nothing?

They took their ice cream and Roxas paid, turning around to walk away like he usually did when he wasn't waiting for Kairi to eat a mountain of ice cream. Xion loudly cleared her throat, stopping him in her tracks. He turned and looked at her, an eyebrow raised, and she narrowed her eyes at him. Axel caught the whole exchange, his hands clutched at the ice cream case hard enough that his knuckles turned white, trying to keep himself from punching the lights out of Roxas's demanding little girlfriend.

"I'll do it tomorrow," Roxas mumbled, before running out of the shop. Xion looked back at Axel, giving him an awkward shrug before following Roxas out the door.

To say that Axel was disappointed was an understatement. Axel didn't want to say the word "crushed" for what he was feeling; after all, he didn't actually _know_ Roxas all that well, but he hadn't felt this discouraged in a long time. He went home and laid down in his bed, and spent several hours staring up at his ceiling, thinking about Roxas.

Axel considered skipping work the next day, but went in anyway; he didn't have anything better to do.

The boss was off today and it was relatively slow in the shop; it was deliciously quiet and Larxene never showed up for her shift, and Axel was quite enjoying the lack of her sarcastic remarks and upright refusal to do anything he asked of her. All in all, it was a good day so far, but the bell on the door _dinged_ and Axel's heart started thumping and his stomach dropped when Roxas walked through the door with Xion in tow.

Or more like Roxas was being shoved through the door against his will by a determined and red-faced Xion.

Axel had been leaning against the counter, he stood up when they entered and tried to put on a professional face to hide his emotional turmoil. "The usual?" he asked, impressed with himself when his voice only cracked a _little_.

"Roxas has something to ask you," Xion said, shoving him up toward the counter.

"I can't do it," Roxas said in a high-pitched whine. Axel stood up straight, confused, when the two of them started to bicker in harsh whispers that he could barely understand.

"Uh… ask me what?" He asked. Xion and Roxas stopped bickering, but Roxas would not look him in the eye.

"I-er… uh…" Roxas mumbled.

"What my _idiot brother_ is trying to say," Xion began, and Axel only heard two words out of it. Brother. _Brother?_ Xion was his sister? There was still a chance that Roxas was single? "Is that there's a party this weekend and he wants to know if you'll go with him."

Axel nearly missed this part of the question. "Wait, what?"

Roxas's face was burning red, and he was barely able to make eye contact with Axel before looking back down at his shoes. "Well, will you go with me?"

"You mean like a date?"

"Maybe," Roxas grumbled.

Axel's heart threatened to explode out of his chest and he was suddenly floating on cloud nine. "Hmmm…" He hummed, rolling his eyes to the ceiling and pressing a finger to the corner of his mouth, unable to keep the beaming grin from his face. "Well, I don't work this weekend, but I _do_ have that big project due…" He stole a glance back down at Roxas, who still wasn't looking him in the eye.

"All you have to do is say yes, asshole," Roxas grumbled. Xion beamed.

Axel leaned against his elbows on the counter, resting his face in his hands, grinning. "Then I'll say yes," he said. "Pick me up at eight."

Roxas finally looked at him, beaming, taking a deep breath in relief. Axel could see the tension in his body melting away. Roxas leaned forward and kissed Axel on the cheek, before embarrassment sent him running back out of the shop with Xion in two.

Axel subconsciously touched where Roxas had kissed, his face as red as his hair.

Nothing could kill his mood. Not Larxene showing up four hours late and screeching at him because he didn't call her to wake her up. Not even the boss announcing the next day that he was taking sea-salt ice cream off the menu.

After all, Roxas now had another reason to visit the shop every day.


End file.
